The Best (or Worst) Bad Boss Stories Ever

Start Your Own Business Because of a Bad Boss? Join the Club!

Many entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, freelancers, independent contractors, small businesspeople, and other self-employed folk start their own business because of a bad boss. Whether it is a string of bad boss experiences or even just one very bad boss, quitting or getting fired and starting your own business is often the result.

Bad bosses come in a surprising variety of shapes: The slave-driver, the jerk, the screamer, the moron, the weirdo, the one who never gives anyone any credit, the manipulator . . . And then what? Sick of being miserable for eight hours a day, or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, you can’t take it any more and the next thing you know, you’re working for yourself.

Amen.

It surprises me what a ripe subject this is. It seems like everyone has a bad boss story, or several. Check it out: I have a friend in sales who works for a boss who, once a week, every week, fires someone. Employee morale is of course low, people are constantly in fear of losing their jobs, turnover is a given, and people hate working there.

Bad bosses come in a surprising variety of shapes: The slave-driver, the jerk, the screamer, the dimwit, the weirdo…

My first boss was a bad boss. I got a job at an ice cream shop. I was 16. The boss said I needed training, and so had me work for a week – for free. When the week ended, he further informed me that I needed another week of training. I quit during the second free week of labor.

What is Your Bad Boss Story?

I have been hearing a lot of bad boss stories lately. Here are some of the best (or should I say, worst?):

• There was a guy whose wife unexpectedly went into labor three weeks early. He called his office and explained to his boss that he would not be able to make it in for a few days. He was fired for “a lack of commitment to the job.”

• Or how about the woman who worked in food service who got the flu from her son but forced herself to go into work that day anyway because the boss liked “team players.” By midday she clearly needed to go home, on top of the fact that she was contagious. But the boss would not let her leave and made her finish her shift. And yes, most of the rest of the staff got sick that week.

• Or the boss who befriended one woman and, over the next few months, got her to share some secrets about her past employment (private things, nothing illegal). The boss later twisted the info and shared it with his boss in order to ingratiate himself, look like he was on top of things, and get ahead. She was fired and he got a promotion.

• How about the partner in a big law firm who gave the young associate four boxes full of paper – probably 10,00 pages in all – and said it had to be organized and indexed . . . in two days. When the associate showed up two days later, disheveld and exhausted and holding an understandably incomplete index, the boss said, “Good job. I was just testing you.”

• What about the guy who demands everyone work extra hours almost every day but naps every afternoon?

• Or the boss who locks the front door and won’t let people leave at 5:00 (“unless you want to get fired on the spot”) until the team meets their daily quota of sales?

(Do you have a bad boss story? Please share it below.)

Bad Boss Stories: What You Can Do to Make Things Better

So what do you do if you have a bad boss and don’t want to quit, or cannot quit? Here are a few ideas:

1. Do your best. Nothing succeeds like success. Hopefully, the boss will come to realize your value and not want to lose you, or maybe other people in the business notice your commitment. Either way, you will keep your job and some of your sanity if you don’t sink to the boss’s level.

2. Say yes. The bad boss is often an insecure person. To the extent possible, you might want to just try agreeing with her, even if you know she is wrong. In addition, work to figure out what is important to your boss and do that.

3. Speak up. Tell your boss what it is you need and how working together can help the business. Your boss may not listen, but then again, maybe he will.

4. Document. Make sure you keep a log of inappropriate comments and actions; you never know when it might come in handy, in a lawsuit or wrongful termination case for instance. Similarly, document your work and what you do right.

5. Keep your eyes open. This is not your last job, just your current one. Work your network and keep your options open.

Leave a Reply

NoneNotify of new replies to this commentNotify of new replies to all my commentsNotify of all new follow-up comments

Guest

Deela

1 month 21 days ago

I’ve had a few. Court reporter for years with said agency. “New court reporter to agency” shows up at my deposition to “sit in” for experience. I find out a week later that the “boss” decides to passive aggressively interrogate her on my deposition that day, then hires her and fires me. I find out later that the “boss” does this to all of the senior reporters when she wants young ones in that she can manipulate. Another, this “boss” demands we show up at work 15 minutes before start time “or you will be fired.” He stands in the center of the room with his arms crossed, as each person walks in; looking at them sternly, and then the clock. Doesn’t say a word. If that’s not enough, he demands we attend a business meeting on a Saturday, without pay. And if we don’t show up, again we “will be fired.” I not only didn’t show up, but I gave them no notice of not showing up for work, when to the unemployment office, and talked to the very nice black woman who worked there, explaining this “owner of the company’s” racial remarks against another woman behind her back, who just so happened to be black, and I was to replace her. This was years ago. I suspect the owner is deceased, but I do know he filed bankruptcy a year after I walked out on him. Became a self-employed freelancer after that for 25 years. Loved it.

0

| Reply - Share

Please insert the code above to comment

Manage Subscriptions ∨

NoneNotify of new replies to this commentNotify of new replies to all my commentsNotify of all new follow-up comments

I teach as a government contractor. One of my assignments was a 8 hour plane ride with 2 layovers + a 2 hr drive or an 8 hour drive, teach Monday-Friday 8-6pm and come back home late Friday night/Saturday Morning and head back out Sunday. One of my (govt) students was sick and sitting in the front row. No one would send her home for fear of the union wrath. We had 4 instructors per class and ran classes every 2 weeks. At the end of the second week I got sick. Flu + Bronchitis. I could hardly talk so I emailed the prime contractor/training manager to let him know I wasn’t in any shape to teach the next class but if he really wanted me down there, I would come and that I would just appreciate it if I could sit in the instructor’s area unless I was absolutely needed. He emailed back saying “no worries, use up that sick leave” 9am the next morning I get a call from my manager saying he had told everyone I failed to show up and he wanted me off of the project. What’s worst is that the IBM company policy (they were the prime contact) mandated we had to buy plane tickets 4 weeks in advance and they refused to pay me back. The company I worked for “negotiated” with me and gave me $250 each ticket to convert the tickets for another time. I NEVER fly. I lost a ton of money, not to mention my job because of one arrogant manager who lied and broke the law.

0

| Reply - Share

Please insert the code above to comment

Manage Subscriptions ∨

NoneNotify of new replies to this commentNotify of new replies to all my commentsNotify of all new follow-up comments

I worked at a restaurant in Macon, Georgia – one of a chain in several cities in Georgia – and the managers were all right folks, but the owner of the store was a… How do I put this politely? Racist maniac. Several people complained of being forced to work past their shift hours. Hours were cut from checks. Tips were misrepresented so the fellow wouldn’t have to pay people – very few of us EVER managed to make minimum wage in tips. And the environment was abusive – they would pick waitresses like an abusive man picks girlfriends. Young, most single mothers, none with even the beginnings of a college education. And then he could do whatever he wanted, because if anyone did the sensible thing, like call corporate or human relations or the police, they would simply be fired. It was as close to slavery as you can still get in Georgia.

0

| Reply - Share

Please insert the code above to comment

Manage Subscriptions ∨

NoneNotify of new replies to this commentNotify of new replies to all my commentsNotify of all new follow-up comments

Book Steve for your next event

Terms of Use

The following terms of use govern all use of the TheSelfEmployed.com website and all content, services and products available at or through the website (taken together, the Website). The Website is owned and operated by The Strauss Group Inc. (“The Strauss Group Inc.”). The Website is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms of use contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, The Strauss Group Inc.) and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Site by The Strauss Group Inc. (collectively, the “Agreement”).

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the Website. By accessing or using any part of the web site, you agree to become bound by the terms of use of this agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms of use of this agreement, then you may not access the Website or use any services. If these terms of use are considered an offer by The Strauss Group Inc., acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. The Website is available only to individuals who are at least 18 years old.

Your TheSelfEmployed.com Account and Site. If you create a blog/site on the Website, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and blog, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under the account and any other actions taken in connection with the blog. You must not describe or assign keywords to your blog in a misleading or unlawful manner, including in a manner intended to trade on the name or reputation of others, and The Strauss Group Inc. may change or remove any description or keyword that it considers inappropriate or unlawful, or otherwise likely to cause The Strauss Group Inc. liability. You must immediately notify The Strauss Group Inc. of any unauthorized uses of your blog, your account or any other breaches of security. The Strauss Group Inc. will not be liable for any acts or omissions by You, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.

Responsibility of Contributors. If you operate a blog, comment on a blog, post material to the Website, post links on the Website, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available by means of the Website (any such material, “Content”), You are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content. That is the case regardless of whether the Content in question constitutes text, graphics, an audio file, or computer software. By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:

the downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party;

if your employer has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;

you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms;

the Content does not contain or install any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive content;

the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);

the Content is not pornographic, does not contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party;

your blog is not getting advertised via unwanted electronic messages such as spam links on newsgroups, email lists, other blogs and web sites, and similar unsolicited promotional methods;

your blog is not named in a manner that misleads your readers into thinking that you are another person or company. For example, your blog’s URL or name is not the name of a person other than yourself or company other than your own; and

you have, in the case of Content that includes computer code, accurately categorized and/or described the type, nature, uses and effects of the materials, whether requested to do so by The Strauss Group Inc. or otherwise.

By submitting Content to The Strauss Group Inc. for inclusion on your Website, you grant The Strauss Group Inc. a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting your blog. If you delete Content, The Strauss Group Inc. will use reasonable efforts to remove it from the Website, but you acknowledge that caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately unavailable.

Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, The Strauss Group Inc. has the right (though not the obligation) to, in The Strauss Group Inc.possessive sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any content that, in The Strauss Group Inc. possessive reasonable opinion, violates any The Strauss Group Inc. policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Website to any individual or entity for any reason, in The Strauss Group Inc.possessive sole discretion. The Strauss Group Inc. will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.

Payment and Renewal.

General Terms.By selecting a product or service, you agree to pay The Strauss Group Inc. the one-time and/or monthly or annual subscription fees indicated (additional payment terms may be included in other communications). Subscription payments will be charged on a pre-pay basis on the day you sign up for an Upgrade and will cover the use of that service for a monthly or annual subscription period as indicated. Payments are not refundable.

Automatic Renewal. Unless you notify The Strauss Group Inc. before the end of the applicable subscription period that you want to cancel a subscription, your subscription will automatically renew and you authorize us to collect the then-applicable annual or monthly subscription fee for such subscription (as well as any taxes) using any credit card or other payment mechanism we have on record for you. Upgrades can be canceled at any time by submitting your request to The Strauss Group Inc. in writing.

Responsibility of Website Visitors.

The Strauss Group Inc. has not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, posted to the Website, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material’s content, use or effects. By operating the Website, The Strauss Group Inc. does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. The Website may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Website may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms of use, stated or unstated. The Strauss Group Inc. disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of the Website, or from any downloading by those visitors of content there posted.

Content Posted on Other Websites.

We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and webpages to which TheSelfEmployed.com links, and that link to TheSelfEmployed.com. The Strauss Group Inc. does not have any control over those non-The Strauss Group Inc. websites and webpages, and is not responsible for their contents or their use. By linking to a non-The Strauss Group Inc. website or webpage, The Strauss Group Inc. does not represent or imply that it endorses such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. The Strauss Group Inc. disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-The Strauss Group Inc. websites and webpages.

Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy.

As The Strauss Group Inc. asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or linked to by TheSelfEmployed.com violates your copyright, you are encouraged to notify info[at]theselfemployed.com. The Strauss Group Inc. will respond to all such notices, including as required or appropriate by removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material. The Strauss Group Inc. will terminate a visitor’s access to and use of the Website if, under appropriate circumstances, the visitor is determined to be a repeat infringer of the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of The Strauss Group Inc. or others. In the case of such termination, The Strauss Group Inc. will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to The Strauss Group Inc..

Intellectual Property.

This Agreement does not transfer from The Strauss Group Inc. to you any The Strauss Group Inc. or third party intellectual property, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with The Strauss Group Inc.. The Strauss Group Inc., TheSelfEmployed.com, the TheSelfEmployed.com logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with TheSelfEmployed.com, or the Website are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Strauss Group Inc. or The Strauss Group Inc.possessive licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Website grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any The Strauss Group Inc. or third-party trademarks.

Advertisements.

The Strauss Group Inc. reserves the right to display advertisements on your blog unless you have purchased an ad-free account.

Attribution.

The Strauss Group Inc. reserves the right to display attribution links such as ‘Blog at TheSelfEmployed.com,’ theme author, and font attribution in your blog footer or toolbar.

Partner Products.

By activating a partner product (e.g. theme) from one of our partners, you agree to that partner’s terms of service. You can opt out of their terms of service at any time by de-activating the partner product.

Domain Names.

If you are registering a domain name, using or transferring a previously registered domain name, you acknowledge and agree that use of the domain name is also subject to the policies of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), including their Registration Rights and Responsibilities.

Changes.

The Strauss Group Inc. reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the Website following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. The Strauss Group Inc. may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms of use of this Agreement.

Termination.

The Strauss Group Inc. may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your TheSelfEmployed.com account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you have a paid services account, such account can only be terminated by The Strauss Group Inc. if you materially breach this Agreement and fail to cure such breach within 5 business days from The Strauss Group Inc. notice to you thereof; provided that, The Strauss Group Inc. can terminate the Website immediately as part of a general shut down of our service. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Disclaimer of Warranties.

The Website is provided “as is”. The Strauss Group Inc. and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither The Strauss Group Inc. nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that the Website will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain content or services through, the Website at your own discretion and risk.

Limitation of Liability.

In no event will The Strauss Group Inc., or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement for substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to The Strauss Group Inc. under this agreement during the 15 business day period prior to the cause of action. The Strauss Group Inc. shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.

General Representation and Warranty.

You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Website will be in strict accordance with the The Strauss Group Inc., with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of the Website will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Indemnification.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Strauss Group Inc., its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Website, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.

Miscellaneous.

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between The Strauss Group Inc. and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of The Strauss Group Inc., or by the posting by The Strauss Group Inc. of a revised version. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.

We’ve got even more great stuff to share! Join our weekly newsletter to keep up on the latest articles on TheSelfEmployed.com as well as extra goodies, tips and advice. Best of all it’s free! Just signup below to get started.